- Published:
- Tuesday, 7 March 2023 at 7:37 am
We have written to panel practitioners who do legally aided work, to encourage consideration of equitable briefing principles when briefing counsel.
We know that there are many barriers for women, gender and culturally diverse lawyers to progress through the profession. By working to improve diversity in our sector, we will be improving access to justice, by better reflecting the gender and cultural diversity of the Victorian community.
Our Equitable Briefing Strategy was launched in 2022 and aims to guide fair briefing practices and advance opportunities for women and diverse groups within the legal profession.
Many panel practitioners have already expressed strong support for briefing women and diverse counsel and we know that many firms already operate in this way. We hope these collaborative initiatives across the sector will make a difference in improving briefing practices.
In launching our strategy last year, our aim was for at least 30 per cent of all in-house briefs and briefing fees to go to women counsel (junior and senior) by the end of 2022, and pleasingly we met this target.
Our target for this year is for at least 30 per cent of all panel practitioner briefs and fees to go to women counsel (junior and senior). In house, we are targeting 40 per cent of all briefs and fees to go to women counsel.
Throughout the year, we will be providing a range of supports including training, development and opportunities to learn more about diverse counsel.
We also aim to improve data about the diversity of counsel we brief and to develop briefing targets for diverse counsel. However, we recognise the sensitivities involved in collecting personal information. We are currently working out the best way to achieve this and will update you on our progress.
More information
Take a look at the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy and the Law Institute of Victoria’s Charter for the Advancement of Women, both of which we are a signatories to.
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